Avoiding a collision at the last second is enough to rattle anyone, but for a 22-year-old in Venice's Lido district, it came with an unexpected price tag: a €102 fine for running afoul of Italy's laws on public expression. During the Venice Film Festival, the young man swerved just in time to miss a pedestrian who stepped blindly into traffic. Adrenaline pumping, he let out a sharp, unmistakable blasphemy, completely unaware that local police officers were standing just a few feet away.
After checking his paperwork - which was entirely in order - the officers decided to penalize the rider's conduct under Article 724 of the Penal Code, which sanctions offensive language toward deities in public spaces. The bizarre incident, initially reported by La Tribuna di Treviso, quickly went viral on social media, sparking a wave of public amusement and internet irony. When contacted by the press, local police commander Marco Agostini defended his officers' actions, noting that the law remains on the books and must be enforced without exceptions.